'The Office' Series Finale: Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak to Return, Still No Steve Carell?

While our beloved '30 Rock' will come to a close on January 31, we shan't forget that 2013 will also see the final episodes of 'The Office' airing this May. And while much has been said about the final hours of the Dunder-Mifflin crew, from returning guests to unraveling the mystery behind the documentary team, the cast and crew recently took to the TCA tour to preview the series end, including several returning cast members (and several still not). Find out the latest on the 'Office' series finale inside!

'The Office' will come to a close after nine years this May, but may not end exactly as you think. Series showrunner and co-creator Greg Daniels along with the cast recently addressed reporters at the TCA press tour, offering hints of what's to come for the final hours of the long-running NBC series. And before you ask, a return appearance from Steve Carell's Michael Scott may still not be in the cards.

"Steve is very much of the opinion that the 'Goodbye Michael' episode and the story arc that we did leading up to it was his goodbye to the fans and the show, and the stuff we're doing this season is the goodbye that the rest of the show gets to have," Daniels said. "So at the moment we don't have any plans for him to come back."

Daniels would, however, offer that series stars (and behind-the-scenes stars) B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling would both return for the hour-long series finale, having been absent since the season premiere (both left to work Kaling's 'The Mindy Project'). Gabe (Zach Woods) will also make a return appearance, as will the show put a cap on the long-running "Scranton Strangler" story when Toby visits the accused in prison to determine his true guilt.

Daniels also previewed that an important firing of one of the Dunder-Mifflin staff would take place around the show's 15th episode, while individual episodes would serve as goodbyes or resolutions to certain supporting characters. Most importantly, the documentary format of the series will begin to unravel around the 12th episode (January 24), which Daniels described as the "beginning of the end"

We're trying to get more of a feel of the earlier episodes in what we're doing. One of the things I think we are really excited about for this year is the chance for the fans who have been following the show religiously for years to really get off on all the connections and the wrap-ups and the artistry we're trying to bring.

Obviously we do want to say thank you to the fans, but I also kind of it want to be a great episode in its own right and not everybody just standing there. I would hope that that last episode is good and has surprises and drama to it.

Well, what say you? Do you think 'The Office' series finale will deliver on what fans have wanted to see, even if Steve Carell doesn't take part? How would you like to see the Dunder-Mifflin crew wrap things up? Give us your predictions in the comments!